Archive for 'Extreme'
60 Worst Countries in the World
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In the last five years, the Foundation for Peace compile ranking of countries in the world on all factors that determine the quality of life. According to that list, composed photographs is this series called “Postcards from hell”, because there, a picture is worth 1,000 words:
1. SOMALIA
FSI score: 114.3 (out of 120)
Somalia has topped the Failed States Index for the last three years — a testament not only to the depth of the country’s long-running political and humanitarian disaster, but also, as James Traub writes, to the international community’s inability to find an answer. After two decades of chaos, the country is today largely under the control of Islamist militant groups, the most notorious and powerful of which is al-Shabab. A second faction, Hizbul Islam, rivals the former in brutality — it recently executed two Somalis for the crime of watching the World Cup. Off the coast, pirates such as the men pictured here torment passing ships, often holding them hostage for a high price. In 2009, Somali pirates earned an estimated $89 million in ransom payments.
Huge Waves and Ships
Short of facing actual tsunami or the infamous “rogue wave” (see “Poseidon” to catch up on what rogue waves look like), ships are built to withstand a barrage of elements, but only to a certain point. And exactly where this breaking point lies, no sane seaman ever wants to discover on his own. The following is a collection of heavy storm pictures, testing and trying the nerves of sailors and the building quality of ships.
(original unknown)
Suicidal Instruments
A healthy doze of “black humor” to set you straight
Life is not always rosy, and it’s not always black. Mostly it’s featureless gray with rare splashes of absurd color.
If you deliberately “paint it black”, though, you may not live long:
Danger and Beauty of Hawaiian Volcanoes
The most active volcano on Earth is also the most visited
So book your ticket to enjoy the distinct possibility to be blown up 20 kilometers into the air 
– Kilauea volcano is one of the five shield-volcanoes that comprise the islands of Hawaii and it’s anything but docile.
You can still enjoy the spectacular views in relative peace, however, because the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors all current volcanic activity, which keeps them busy around the clock (a quick look at their website eruption archives proves that)
Pu’u ‘O’o cone on Kilauea, Big Island of Hawaii (aerial view) -
(image credit: Jacob)
Siberian Adventures
The Mud Rules, and the Absolute Mud Rules Absolutely!
This is the Ural road between regional centers Syktyvkar-Ukhta-Pechora. The worst section is between Nizhny Odes & Irael, where even KAMAZ trucks and other heavy machinery meet their mud “nemesis”. The helpless drivers of private cars ask for a ride on top of heavier trucks, hoping to make any progress. But soon the mud seals their fate, some trucks even overturn and remain lying on their side for days.
(images credit: Evgeny Belyaev)
Missile Launch Bases
We’ll start with a miniature nuclear device, that might not be known to everyone. Davy Crockett M388 A-Bomb, mounted on a recoilless rifle – all the more amazing that it was developed in the late 50s, at the height of the Cold War… and with today’s technology one would assume that the nuclear device can be made much smaller (as many movies already have demonstrated).
The smallest nuclear warhead ever developed by the United States
It was a tactical weapon, intended to be used against the Soviet troops in West Germany (if stubborn communists would’ve decided to expand their “worker’s paradise” there. The nuclear confrontation almost became a real thing during the Cuban Crisis in 1962, when Soviet & NATO forces stood against each other at Germany’s Fulda Gap)
(image credit: US Military)
